What The Universe Wants (Reading Bloodlines)
by SweetRambling
Summary: When Sydney finds herself sharing a dream with everybody who has played an important part in her life she is thoroughly confused. Then it comes to hers, and the others understandings that they are to read the Bloodlines series. You can also read this story on my blog: sweetrambling. wordpress. com (No spaces) Disclaimer: The Bloodlines world and characters belong to Richelle Mead
1. Prologue

**Prologue~**

"What are you all doing here in my dream?" I exclaimed as numerous people simply appeared in front of me, all wearing the confused expression I was sure was on my face as well.

"Don't ask us," Rose replied, stepping forward from the throng of faces. "We were all about to ask you the same question."

Behind Rose, several heads nodded in agreement and as they did I caught a glimpse of most of them.

Next to Rose stood Dimitri and Queen Vasilisa, with who I assumed was Christian Ozera not far away. Jill and Eddie were there to along with Angeline, Trey, Sonya, Marcus and Zmey (though I should refer to him as Abe). At the farther end of the group was Adrian who immediately smiled when I made eye contact.

One face I hadn't seen then stepped out of the throng and I was relieved to see it was Ms. Terwilliger. She would be able to give some explanation for this.

"I would think that there is a very obvious reason you are all here. For some reason, the universe wants you to know things that have so far been kept from you. And what better way than to have you read about it?"

"What do you mean by read about it…" I started before my eyes fell on a set of three books stacked on a simple wooden table.

Walking towards the books, closely followed by everyone else, the cover slowly became more visible until the picture became clear.

"Oh my God Sydney. You're on the cover. Why would you be on the cover?" Jill questioned, clearly puzzled by the fact. She wasn't the only one.

"I'd think it would be quite obvious," commented Ms. Terwilliger, as if finding a book with your face on it was quite normal. "The book is obviously about Sydney, and we obviously need to read it."

"I agree," piped in Queen Vasilisa. "There has to be a reason we are here and so are the books. That we should read them seems logical. And I personally think Sydney should, for at least part of it."

At Vasilisa's words people nodded in agreement and I went and picked up the top book, a red one with the title of 'Bloodlines'.

Sitting down on the floor, cross-legged, everybody else did the same and I opened the page, everybody looking at me with expressions of anticipation and nervousness.

**SweetRambling xoxo**


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One~**

Opening to the first page I withheld a gasp as I realized where the story started. Could these books be about my time in Palm Springs? If so I was not looking forward to this, yet I guess it would be best to get this over and done with.

**I couldn't breathe.**

"How come you couldn't breathe?" asked Sonya in an expression of concern.

"Trust me, I'm fine," I said trying to cease everybody's worry.

**There was a hand covering my mouth and another shaking my shoulder, startling me out of a heavy sleep. A thousand frantic thoughts dashed through my mind in the space of a single heartbeat. It was happening. My worst nightmare was coming true.**

**They're here! They've come for me!**

"Who has come for you?" Rose leaned forward, giving me the impression of an interrogation if it wasn't for the worried look on her face.

"No-one," I answered vaguely. Having realized where this book started, I knew that everything would be revealed in just seconds.

**My eyes blinked, staring wildly around the dark room until my father's face came into focus. I stilled my thrashing, thoroughly confused. He let go and stepped back to regard me coldly. I sat up in the bed, my heart still pounding.**

**'Dad?'**

"It was your dad," Rose said in realization.

**'Sydney. You wouldn't wake up.'**

**Naturally, that was his only apology for scaring me to death.**

"I'm sorry but you're fathers a dick," Adrian commented. "I thought my father was bad but that's horrible."

"It gets worse," I told him as he gave me a disbelieving look.

**'You need to get dressed and make yourself presentable,' he continued. 'Quickly and quietly. Meet me downstairs in the study.'**

**I felt my eyes widen but didn't hesitate with a response. There was only one acceptable answer. 'Yes, sir. Of course.'**

**'I'll go wake your sister.' He turned for the door, and I leapt out of bed.**

**'Zoe?' I exclaimed. 'What do you need her for?'**

"Yes, what did your dad need Zoe for?" Jill asked. "Was she supposed to come instead of you?"

"Yes" I said in response to her question. "There were some people who wanted Zoe to go rather than me."

**'Shh,' he chastised. 'Hurry up and get ready. And remember - be quiet. Don't wake your mother.'**

"Why doesn't he want you to wake your mother up?" Trey asked?

"Just listen, it tells you," I responded.

**He shut the door without another word, leaving me staring. The panic that had only just subsided began to surge within me again. What did he need Zoe for? A late-night wake-up meant Alchemist business, and she had nothing to do with that. Technically, neither did I anymore, not since I'd been put on indefinite suspension for bad behavior this summer. What if that's what this was about? What if I was finally being taken to a re-education center and Zoe was replacing me?**

"What is a re-education center?" Rose asked. Did she ever stop asking questions?

"Shh Roza, I'm sure we'll find out soon," Dimitri told her.

**For a moment, the world swam around me, and I caught hold of my bed to steady myself. Re-education centers. They were the stuff of nightmares for young Alchemists like me, mysterious places where those who grew too close to vampires were dragged off to learn the errors of their ways. What exactly went on there was a secret, one I never wanted to find out. I was pretty sure 're-education' was a nice way of saying 'brainwashing.' I'd only ever seen one person who had come back, and honestly, he'd seemed like half a person after that. There'd been an almost zombielike quality to him, and I didn't even want to think about what they might have done to make him that way.**

"That's horrible. How come I didn't know about this?" Queen Vasilisa exclaimed.

"The Alchemists don't tell you half the things they know or do. At an early age it is drilled into us that vampires are evil and manipulative."

"They're the ones that sound evil and manipulative," Vasilisa's boyfriend Christian said.

"They are," I replied before I continued on reading.

**My father's urging to hurry up echoed back through my mind, and I tried to shake off my fears. Remembering his other warning, I also made sure I moved silently. My mother was a light sleeper. Normally, it wouldn't matter if she caught us going off on Alchemist errands, but lately, she hadn't been feeling so kindly toward her husband's (and daughter's) employers. Ever since angry Alchemists had deposited me on my parents' doorstep last month, this household had held all the warmth of a prison camp. Terrible arguments had gone down between my parents, and my sister Zoe and I often found ourselves tiptoeing around.**

"No wonder he didn't want you to wake her up," Trey said in realization.

**Zoe.**

**Why does he need Zoe?**

**The question burned through me as I scurried to get ready. I knew what 'presentable' meant. Throwing on jeans and a T-shirt was out of the question. Instead, I tugged on gray slacks and a crisp, white button-down shirt. A darker, charcoal gray cardigan went over it, which I cinched neatly at my waist with a black belt. A small gold cross - the one I always wore around my neck - was the only ornamentation I ever bothered with.**

"No wonder you always wear Khaki's Sage. This book is explaining everything," Adrian remarked in his usual snarky way.

"I think that's the whole point, Adrian," I shot back before continuing to read.

**My hair was a slightly bigger problem. Even after only two hours of sleep, it was already going in every direction. I smoothed it down as best I could and then coated it with a thick layer of hair spray in the hopes that it would get me through whatever was to come. A light dusting of powder was the only makeup I put on. I had no time for anything more.**

**The entire process took me all of six minutes, which might have been a new record for me. **

"That's probably half the time it takes Adrian to do his hair," Eddie said jokingly earning a grin from Adrian.

**I sprinted down the stairs in perfect silence, careful, again, to avoid waking my mother. The living room was dark, but light spilled out past the not-quite-shut door of my father's study. Taking that as an invitation, I pushed the door open and slipped inside. A hushed conversation stopped at my entrance. My father eyed me from head to toe and showed his approval at my appearance in the way he knew best: by simply withholding criticism.**

"Again, your dad is a dick," Adrian commented once more, earning a glance from Jill. Then, completely without meaning to, I let out my typical "Adrian!" Other than suspicious looks from Rose, nobody else seemed to let on that they had noticed anything out of the ordinary and so I went on reading, knowing that reacting would just make the situation worse.

**'Sydney,' he said brusquely. 'I believe you know Donna Stanton.'**

**The formidable Alchemist stood near the window, arms crossed, looking as tough and lean as I remembered. I'd spent a lot of time with Stanton recently, though I would hardly say we were friends - especially since certain actions of mine had ended up putting the two of us under a sort of 'vampire house arrest.' If she harbored any resentment toward me, she didn't show it, though. She nodded to me in polite greeting, her face all business.**

"Wasn't that one of the Alchemists at my wedding?" questioned Sonya.

"Yes, she was at you're wedding."

**Three other Alchemists were there as well, all men. They were introduced to me as Barnes, Michaelson, and Horowitz. Barnes and Michaelson were my father and Stanton's age. Horowitz was younger, mid-twenties, and was setting up a tattooist's tools. All of them were dressed like me, wearing business casual clothing in nondescript colors. Our goal was always to look nice but not attract notice. The Alchemists had been playing Men in Black for centuries, long before humans dreamed of life on other worlds. When the light hit their faces the right way, each Alchemist displayed a lily tattoo identical to mine.**

**Again, my unease grew. Was this some kind of interrogation? An assessment to see if my decision to help a renegade half-vampire girl meant my loyalties had changed? I crossed my arms over my chest and schooled my face to neutrality, hoping I looked cool and confident. If I still had a chance to plead my case, I intended to present a solid one.**

Looking back on this I didn't know why I thought presenting a solid case would have helped. If they had wanted to put me in re-education they would've done it no matter how well I pleaded.

**Before anyone could utter another word, Zoe entered. She shut the door behind her and peered around in terror, her eyes wide. Our father's study was huge - he'd built an addition on to our house for it - and it easily held all the occupants. But as I watched my sister take in the scene, I knew she felt stifled and trapped. I met her eyes and tried to send a silent message of sympathy. It must have worked because she scurried to my side, looking only fractionally less afraid.**

**'Zoe,' said my father. He let her name hang in the air in this way he had, making it clear to both of us that he was disappointed. I could immediately guess why. She wore jeans and an old sweatshirt and had her brown hair in two cute but sloppy braids. **

"So its just you that inherited the Alchemists bad taste of clothing," Adrian said jokingly.

"Hey! My clothes aren't that bad!" I protested, though the seriousness in my voice was let down when a giggle escaped me.

**By any other person's standards, she would have been 'presentable' - but not by his. I felt her cower against me, and I tried to make myself taller and more protective. After making sure his condemnation was felt, our father introduced Zoe to the others. Stanton gave her the same polite nod she'd given me and then turned toward my father.**

**'I don't understand, Jared,' said Stanton. 'Which one of them are you going to use?'**

"Why would they not automatically choose you, Sydney? You're pretty awesome," Rose commented, the compliment making me feel slightly awkward.

"Because the Alchemists are a bunch of idiots," Adrian answered for me, earning another suspicious look from Rose.

**'Well, that's the problem,' my father said. 'Zoe was requested . . . but I'm not sure she's ready. In fact, I know she isn't. She's only had the most basic of training. But in light of Sydney's recent . . . experiences . . .'**

**My mind immediately began to pull the pieces together. First, and most importantly, it seemed I wasn't going to be sent to a re-education center. Not yet, at least. This was about something else. My earlier suspicion was correct. There was some mission or task afoot, and someone wanted to sub in Zoe because she, unlike certain other members of her family, had no history of betraying the Alchemists. **

"Again, sorry," Rose apologized at the mention of Alchemist betrayal.

"**My father was right that she'd only received basic instruction. Our jobs were hereditary, and I had been chosen years ago as the next Alchemist in the Sage family. My older sister, Carly, had been passed over and was now away at college and too old. **

"You have an older sister too? I thought you only had one," Jill said.

"I don't really like talking about Carly," I said.

"Why?" Jill questioned further.

"Why don't you keep reading?" Eddie said, saving me from the awkward conversation unfolding.

**He'd taught Zoe as backup instead, in the event something happened to me, like a car accident or vampire mauling.**

"Like Keith," Abe directed at me with an antagonizing smile.

**I stepped forward, not knowing what I was going to say until I spoke. The only thing I knew for sure was that I could not let Zoe get sucked into the Alchemists' schemes. I feared for her safety more than I did going to a re-education center - and I was pretty afraid of that. 'I spoke to a committee about my actions after they happened,' I said. **

At the word 'committee' Rose closed her eyes in what seemed to be shame.

_She should feel like that_, I found myself thinking, before I reminded myself it wasn't her fault. It was her fathers.

**'I was under the impression that they understood why I did the things I did. I'm fully qualified to serve in whatever way you need - much more so than my sister. I have real-world experience. I know this job inside and out.'**

**'A little too much real-world experience, if memory serves,' said Stanton dryly.**

Now Rose bowed her head. Wow, maybe she felt worse than I'd originally thought.

**'I for one would like to hear these 'reasons' again,' said Barnes, using his fingers to make air quotes. 'I'm not thrilled about tossing a half-trained girl out there, but I also find it hard to believe someone who aided a vampire criminal is 'fully qualified to serve.'' More pretentious air quotes.**

Hearing the words 'vampire criminal' snapped Rose out of her grief, and she immediately went onto defend herself.

"Hey! She started. "I was proven innocent. Don't they know that?"

"They do," I confirmed. "But if they acknowledged that they'd have nothing to hold against me."

**I smiled back pleasantly, masking my anger. If I showed my true emotions, it wouldn't help my case. 'I understand, sir. But Rose Hathaway was eventually proven innocent of the crime she'd been accused of. So, I wasn't technically aiding a criminal. My actions eventually helped find the real murderer.'**

At the mention of the previous queens murderer, both Adrian and Christian had a sad look come across their faces, and I felt an urge to go and comfort Adrian. Though I withheld, knowing that would just warrant more glances from Rose.

**'Be that as it may, we - and you - didn't know she was 'innocent' at the time,' he said.**

**'I know,' I said. 'But I believed she was.'**

**Barnes snorted. 'And there's the problem. You should've believed what the Alchemists told you, not run off with your own far-fetched theories. At the very least, you should've taken what evidence you'd gathered to your superiors.'**

**Evidence? How could I explain that it wasn't evidence that had driven me to help Rose so much as a feeling in my gut that she was telling the truth? **

"Its nice to know it wasn't just blackmailing that drove you to help," Rose remarked. "By the way, are you ever going to tell us what the old man has on you?"

"No" I replied bluntly.

**But that was something I knew they'd never understand. All of us were trained to believe the worst of her kind. Telling them that I had seen truth and honesty in her wouldn't help my cause here. Telling them that I'd been blackmailed into helping her by another vampire was an even worse explanation. There was only one argument that the Alchemists might possibly be able to comprehend.**

**'I . . . I didn't tell anyone because I wanted to get all the credit for it. I was hoping that if I uncovered it, I could get a promotion and a better assignment.'**

"They seriously believed that?" Adrian said. "Wow they really are thick."

**It took every ounce of self-control I had to say that lie straight-faced. I felt humiliated at making such an admission. As though ambition would really drive me to such extreme behaviors! It made me feel slimy and shallow. But, as I'd suspected, this was something the other Alchemists could understand.**

**Michaelson snorted. 'Misguided, but not entirely unexpected for her age.'**

**The other men shared equally condescending looks, even my father. Only Stanton looked doubtful, but then, she'd witnessed more of the fiasco than they had.**

**My father glanced among the others, waiting for further comment. When none came, he shrugged. 'If no one has any objections, then, I'd rather we use Sydney. Not that I even entirely understand what you need her for. There was a slightly accusing tone in his voice over not having been filled in yet. Jared Sage didn't like to be left out of the loop.**

"Does anybody? Rose and Abe both said at the same time. They were more alike than Rose would like to admit.

**'I have no problem with using the older girl,' said Barnes. 'But keep the younger one around until the others get here, in case they have any objections.' I wondered how many 'others' would be joining us. My father's study was no stadium. Also, the more people who came, the more important this case probably was. My skin grew cold as I wondered what the assignment could possibly be. I'd seen the Alchemists cover up major disasters with only one or two people. How colossal would something have to be to require this much help?**

"That's my Jailbait!" Adrian exclaimed.

**Horowitz spoke up for the first time. 'What do you want me to do?'**

**'Re-ink Sydney,' said Stanton decisively. 'Even if she doesn't go, it won't hurt to have the spells reinforced. No point in inking Zoe until we know what we're doing with her.'**

"I thought that the Alchemists were against magic," Trey observed.

"They're supposed to be," was the only reply I could think of.

**My eyes flicked to my sister's noticeably bare - and pale - cheeks. Yes. As long as there was no lily there, she was free. Once the tattoo was emblazoned on your skin, there was no going back. You belonged to the Alchemists.**

**The reality of that had only hit me in the last year or so. I'd certainly never realized it while growing up. My father had dazzled me from a very young age about the rightness of our duty. I still believed in that rightness but wished he'd also mentioned just how much of my life it would consume.**

**Horowitz had set up a folding table on the far side of my father's study. He patted it and gave me a friendly smile.**

**'Step right up,' he told me. 'Get your ticket.'**

"He at least seems nice," stated Vasilisa.

**Barnes shot him a disapproving look. 'Please. You could show a little respect for this ritual, David.'**

"But the rest of them are pretty strict," I continued, with the previous passage backing up my statement.

**Horowitz merely shrugged. He helped me lie down, and though I was too afraid of the others to openly smile back, I hoped my gratitude showed in my eyes. Another smile from him told me he understood. Turning my head, I watched as Barnes reverently set a black briefcase on a side table. The other Alchemists gathered around and clasped their hands together in front of them. He must be the hierophant, I realized. Most of what the Alchemists did was rooted in science, but a few tasks required divine assistance. After all, our core mission to protect humanity was rooted in the belief that vampires were unnatural and went against God's plan. That's why hierophants - our priests - worked side by side with our scientists.**

**'Oh Lord,' he intoned, closing his eyes. 'Bless these elixirs. Remove the taint of the evil they carry so that their life-giving power shines through purely to us, your servants.'**

**He opened the briefcase and removed four small vials, each filled with dark red liquid. Labels that I couldn't read marked each one. **

"No offense, Sage but you probably should have figured it out. Its obviously –"

"Adrian, if this book ends the way I think it does you shouldn't give away the ending," I chastised.

**With a steady hand and practiced eye, Barnes poured precise amounts from each vial into a larger bottle. When he'd used all four, he produced a tiny packet of powder that he emptied into the rest of the mix. I felt a tingle in the air, and the bottle's contents turned to gold. He handed the bottle to Horowitz, who stood ready with a needle. Everyone relaxed, the ceremonial part complete.**

**I obediently turned away, exposing my cheek. A moment later, Horowitz's shadow fell over me. 'This will sting a little, but nothing like when you originally got it. It's just a touch-up,' he explained kindly.**

**'I know,' I said. I'd been re-inked before. 'Thanks.'**

**The needle pricked my skin, and I tried not to wince. It did sting, but like he'd said, Horowitz wasn't creating a new tattoo. He was simply injecting small amounts of the ink into my existing tattoo, recharging its power. **

"What exactly is its power?" Vasilisa asked. "I always thought that it was just a way for us to recognize you as an Alchemist."

"It stops us from talking about your world to anybody who doesn't know about it already, among others things," I answered.

**I took this as a good sign. Zoe might not be out of danger yet, but surely they wouldn't go to the trouble of re-inking me if they were just going to send me to a re-education center.**

"That's a good sign at least," stated Angeline, talking for the first time since we'd arrived in this place.

**'Can you brief us on what's happening while we're waiting?' asked my father. 'All I was told was that you needed a teen girl.' The way he said 'teen girl' made it sound like a disposable role. I fought back a wave of anger at my father. That's all we were to him.**

"And I used to think you thought well of your father," Adrian said snarkily.

**'We have a situation,' I heard Stanton say. Finally, I'd get some answers. 'With the Moroi.'**

**I breathed a small sigh of relief. Better them than the Strigoi. Any 'situation' the Alchemists faced always involved one of the vampire races, and I'd take the living, non-killing ones any day. They almost seemed human at times (though I'd never tell anyone here that) and lived and died like we did. Strigoi, however, were twisted freaks of nature. They were undead, murderous vampires created either when a Strigoi forcibly made a victim drink its blood or when a Moroi purposely took the life of another through blood drinking. A situation with the Strigoi usually ended with someone dead.**

"Especially when my Roza's around," Dimitri joked, something I had come to consider rare for him.

**All sorts of possible scenarios played through my mind as I considered what issue had prompted action from the Alchemists tonight: a human who had noticed someone with fangs, a feeder who had escaped and gone public, a Moroi treated by human doctors... Those were the kinds of problems we Alchemists faced the most, ones I had been trained to handle and cover up with ease. Why they would need 'a teenage girl' for any of those, however, was a mystery.**

**'You know that they elected their girl queen last month,' said Barnes. I could practically see him rolling his eyes.**

"So that's what they call me," Vasilisa commented.

**Everyone in the room murmured affirmatively. Of course they knew about that. The Alchemists paid careful attention to the political goings-on of the Moroi. Knowing what vampires were doing was crucial to keeping them secret from the rest of humanity - and keeping the rest of humanity safe from them. That was our purpose, to protect our brethren. Know thy enemy was taken very seriously with us. The girl the Moroi had elected queen, Vasilisa Dragomir, was eighteen, just like me.**

It was hard to believe I was the same age as the queen of the Moroi. She had done so much while I had only just stopped being a puppet to the alchemists.

**'Don't tense,' said Horowitz gently.**

**I hadn't realized I had been. I tried to relax, but thinking of Vasilisa Dragomir made me think of Rose Hathaway. Uneasily, I wondered if maybe I shouldn't have been so quick to assume I was out of trouble here. Mercifully, Barnes simply kept going with the story, not mentioning my indirect connection to the girl queen and her associates.**

"Do they ever refer to us by our actual names?" Rose asked in observation.

**'Well, as shocking as that is to us, it's been just as shocking to some of their own people. There's been a lot of protests and dissidence. No one's tried to attack the Dragomir girl, but that's probably because she's so well guarded. Her enemies, it seems, have therefore found a work-around: her sister.'**

**'Jill,' I said, speaking before I could stop myself. Horowitz tsked me for moving, and I immediately regretted drawing attention to myself and my knowledge of the Moroi. Nevertheless, an image of Jillian Mastrano flashed into my mind, tall and annoyingly slim like all Moroi, with big, pale green eyes that always seemed nervous. And she had good reason to be. At fifteen, Jill had discovered she was Vasilisa's illegitimate sister, making her the only other member of their royal family's line. She too was tied to the mess I'd gotten myself into this summer.**

**'You know their laws,' continued Stanton, after a moment of awkward silence. Her tone conveyed what we all thought of Moroi laws. An elected monarch? It made no sense, but what else could one expect from unnatural beings like vampires? 'And Vasilisa must have one family member in order to hold her throne. Therefore, her enemies have decided if they can't directly remove her, they'll remove her family.'**

"How can they talk with so little concern about who they're conspiring to help?" Jill asked sounding disturbed.

**A chill ran down my spine at the unspoken meaning, and I again commented without thinking. 'Did something happen to Jill?' This time, I'd at least chosen a moment when Horowitz was refilling his needle, so there was no danger of messing up the tattoo.**

**I bit my lip to prevent myself from saying anything else, imagining the chastisement in my father's eyes. Showing concern for a Moroi was the last thing I wanted to do, considering my uncertain status. I didn't have any strong attachment to Jill, but the thought of someone trying to kill a fifteen-year-old girl - the same age as Zoe - was appalling, no matter what race she belonged to.**

"Nice to know you had at least that much decency towards us vampires at the start," Jill continued from what she'd said before.

**'That's what's unclear,' Stanton mused. 'She was attacked, we know that much, but we can't tell if she received any real injury. Regardless, she's fine now, but the attempt happened at their own Court, indicating they have traitors at high levels.'**

**Barnes snorted in disgust. 'What can you expect? How their ridiculous race has managed to survive as long as they have without turning on each other is beyond me.' There were mutters of agreement.**

At this everybody shared annoyed looks.

**'Ridiculous or not, though, we cannot have them in civil war,' said Stanton. 'Some Moroi have acted out in protest, enough that they've caught the attention of human media. We can't allow that. We need their government stable, and that means ensuring this girl's safety. Maybe they can't trust themselves, but they can trust us.' There was no use in my pointing out that the Moroi didn't really trust the Alchemists. But, since we had no interest in killing off the Moroi monarch or her family, I supposed that made us more trustworthy than some.**

"I'm pretty sure by the end of this we won't be so trusting of you," Christian (who I was pretty sure was Vasilisa's boyfriend) said.

"I don't doubt you on that," I said.

**'We need to make the girl disappear,' said Michaelson. 'At least until the Moroi can undo the law that makes Vasilisa's throne so precarious. Hiding Mastrano with her own people isn't safe at the moment, so we need to conceal her among humans.' Disdain dripped from his words. 'But it's imperative she also remains concealed from humans. Our race cannot know theirs exists.'**

**'After consultation with the guardians, we've chosen a location we all believe will be safe for her - both from Moroi and Strigoi,' said Stanton. 'However, to make sure she - and those with her - remain undetected, we're going to need Alchemists on hand, dedicated solely to her needs in case any complications come up.'**

**My father scoffed. 'That's a waste of our resources. Not to mention unbearable for whoever has to stay with her.'**

"Are we really that unbearable to be around?" Eddie asked.

Before either Trey or I could answer Rose cut in, in her usual style.

"Well if that time when Sydney and I were on the train together is anything to go by then yes, yes we are."

"Not to me," I added. "Just most."

**I had a bad feeling about what was coming.**

**'This is where Sydney comes in,' said Stanton. 'We'd like her to be one of the Alchemists that accompanies Jillian into hiding.'**

**'What?' exclaimed my father. 'You can't be serious.'**

**'Why not?' Stanton's tone was calm and level. 'They're close in age, so being together won't raise suspicion. And Sydney already knows the girl. Surely spending time with her won't be as 'unbearable' as it might be for other Alchemists.'**

**The subtext was loud and clear. I wasn't free of my past, not yet. **

"Again, sorry Sydney."

**Horowitz paused and lifted the needle, allowing me the chance to speak. My mind raced. Some response was expected. I didn't want to sound too upset by the plan. I needed to restore my good name among the Alchemists and show my willingness to follow orders. That being said, I also didn't want to sound as though I were too comfortable with vampires or their half-human counterparts, the dhampirs.**

**'Spending time with any of them is never fun,' I said carefully, keeping my voice cool and haughty. 'Doesn't matter how much you do it. But I'll do whatever's necessary to keep us - and everyone else - safe.' I didn't need to explain that 'everyone' meant humans.**

"Smooth lying, Sage," Adrian complimented me.

**'There, you see, Jared?' Barnes sounded pleased with the answer. 'The girl knows her duty. We've made a number of arrangements already that should make things run smoothly, and we certainly wouldn't send her there alone - especially since the Moroi girl won't be alone either.'**

**'What do you mean?' My father still didn't sound happy about any of this, and I wondered what was upsetting him the most. Did he truly think I might be in danger? Or was he simply worried that spending more time with the Moroi would turn my loyalties even more?**

Adrian looked smug at that.

**'How many of them are coming?'**

**'They're sending a dhampir,' said Michaelson. 'One of their guardians, which I really don't have a problem with. The location we've chosen should be Strigoi free, but if it's not, better they fight those monsters than us.' The guardians were specially trained dhampirs who served as bodyguards.**

**'There you are,' Horowitz told me, stepping back. 'You can sit up.'**

**I obeyed and resisted the urge to touch my cheek. The only thing I felt from his work was the needle's sting, but I knew powerful magic was working its way through me, magic that would give me a superhuman immune system and prevent me from speaking about vampire affairs to ordinary humans. I tried not to think about the other part, about where that magic came from. The tattoos were a necessary evil.**

"Why are they necessary? From what you've told me the tattoos just stop you from talking about us. I'm sure you'd know not to do that," Vasilisa stated.

"At the time I thought that I didn't know the things I do know. You'll just have to trust that everything is revealed eventually," I said.

**The others were still standing, not paying attention to me - well, except for Zoe. She still looked confused and afraid and kept glancing anxiously my way.**

**'There also may be another Moroi coming along,' continued Stanton. 'Honestly, I'm not sure why, but they were very insistent he be with Mastrano. We told them the fewer of them we had to hide, the better, but… well, they seemed to think it was necessary and said they'd make arrangements for him there. I think he's some Ivashkov. Irrelevant.'**

"I know they love me," Adrian said sarcastically.

**'Where is there?' asked my father. 'Where do you want to send her?'**

**Excellent question. I'd been wondering the same thing. My first full-time job with the Alchemists had sent me halfway around the world, to Russia. If the Alchemists were intent on hiding Jill, there was no telling what remote location they'd send her to. For a moment, I dared to hope we might end up in my dream city: Rome. Legendary works of art and Italian food seemed like a good way to offset paperwork and vampires.**

"You do paperwork?" Angeline asked clearly surprised.

"What do you think I do?"

"I don't know," she said. "I figured you just hung out in your room doing homework."

**'Palm Springs,' said Barnes.**

**'Palm Springs?' I echoed. That was not what I'd been expecting. When I thought of Palm Springs, I thought of movie stars and golf courses. Not exactly a Roman holiday, but not the Arctic either.**

**A small, wry smile tugged at Stanton's lips. 'It's in the desert and receives a lot of sunlight. Completely undesirable for Strigoi.'**

"And us!" Jill remarked.

**'Wouldn't it be undesirable for Moroi too?' I asked, thinking ahead. Moroi didn't incinerate in the sun like Strigoi, but excessive exposure to it still made Moroi weak and sick.**

**'Well, yes,' admitted Stanton. 'But a little discomfort is worth the safety it provides. So long as the Moroi spend most of their time inside, it won't be a problem. Plus, it'll discourage other Moroi from coming and - '**

"A little discomfort," Jill said incredulously.

**The sound of a car door opening and slamming outside the window caught everyone's attention.**

**'Ah,' said Michaelson. 'There are the others. I'll let them in.'**

**He slipped out of the study and presumably headed toward the front door to admit whoever had arrived. Moments later, I heard a new voice speaking as Michaelson returned to us.**

**'Well, Dad couldn't make it, so he just sent me,' the new voice was saying.**

**The study door opened, and my heart stopped.**

**No, I thought. Anyone but him.**

"Who is it?" Rose asked, while Abe gave me a wicked and knowing grin.

**'Jared,' said the newcomer, catching sight of my father. 'Great to see you again.'**

**My father, who had barely spared me a glance all night, actually smiled. 'Keith! I'd been wondering how you've been.'**

"Wasn't that your older 'brother'?" Trey supplied.

**The two of them shook hands, and a wave of disgust rolled through me.**

**'This is Keith Darnell,' said Michaelson, introducing him to the others.**

**'Tom Darnell's son?' asked Barnes, impressed. Tom Darnell was a legendary leader among the Alchemists.**

**'The same,' said Keith cheerfully. He was about five years older than me, with blond hair a shade lighter than mine. I knew a lot of girls thought he was attractive. Me? I found him vile. He was pretty much the last person I'd expected to see here.**

"Why do you find him vile?" Sonya questioned.

"He just isn't a good person."

**'And I believe you know the Sage sisters,' added Michaelson.**

**Keith turned his blue eyes first to Zoe, eyes that were just fractionally different from each other in color. One eye, made of glass, stared blankly ahead and didn't move at all. The other one winked at her as his grin widened.**

"Didn't you mention he was in a vampire mauling?" Eddie asked.

"That's what's believed," I answered vaguely.

**He can still wink, I thought furiously. That annoying, stupid, condescending wink! But then, why wouldn't he? We'd all heard about the accident he'd had this year, an accident that had cost him an eye. He'd still survived with one good one, but somehow, in my mind, I'd thought the loss of an eye would stop that infuriating winking.**

**'Little Zoe! Look at you, all grown up,' he said fondly. I'm not a violent person, not by any means, but I suddenly wanted to hit him for looking at my sister that way.**

"Is that why you don't like him?" Rose questioned. "Because he looks at your sister in a wrong way?"

"Something like that."

**She managed a smile for him, clearly relieved to see a familiar face here. When Keith turned toward me, however, all that charm and friendliness vanished. The feeling was mutual.**

**The burning, black hatred building up inside of me was so overwhelming that it took me a moment to formulate any sort of response. 'Hello, Keith,' I said stiffly.**

**Keith didn't even attempt to match my forced civility. He immediately turned toward the senior Alchemists. 'What is she doing here?'**

"He doesn't even try to be friendly?" Vasilisa asked.

"He does, he just doesn't do a very good job."

**'We know you requested Zoe,' said Stanton levelly, 'but after consideration, we decided it would be best if Sydney fulfill this role. Her experience dwarfs any concerns about her past actions.'**

"So he is the one who wanted Zoe to go instead of you," Rose observed.

**'No,' said Keith swiftly, turning that steely blue gaze back on me. 'There is no way she can come, no way I'm trusting some twisted vamp lover to screw this up for all of us. We're taking her sister.'**

"Okay, chapter ones over," I said, with relief flooding my voice.

"Can I read the next chapter?" Adrian gave me a knowing look as he said it, making me relieved he was able to pick up on my emotions.

"Sure," I said, passing him the book.

**A/N~**

**So that was the first chapter! Sorry it took me a week to update, I'm doing a reading challenge where I'm attempting to read 49 books in two weeks. I know, crazy.**

**On a more story related note, should I use my current blog for this and my other stories I'm planning to write? You'd be able to get sneak previews into uncompleted chapters and I'd be able to communicate with you, my readers better. I'm also writing a few other stories off fanfiction that you'd be able to read as well.**

**Review and tell me what you think!**

**Sweet Rambling xoxo**


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two~ (Un-edited)**

I was a bit concerned about what would happen with Adrian reading – and my concerns were confirmed even before he started reading it out.

"Hmm interesting," Adrian said. "I don't know how that's an insult really, us vamps are quite lovable."

"God Adrian," Rose protested. "Just read it _out loud _already!"

"Okay, okay."

**A couple of people gasped, no doubt over Keith's use of the term "vamp lover." Neither word was that terrible in and of itself, but together... well, they represented an idea that was pretty much anathema to all that the Alchemists stood for. We fought to protect humans from vampires. Being in league with those creatures was about the vilest thing any of us could be accused of. **

"I don't get that," Christian said. "Aren't you all in league with us?"

**Even while questioning me earlier, the other Alchemists had been very careful with their choice of language.**

**Keith's usage was almost obscene. Horowitz looked angry on my behalf and opened his mouth as though he might make an equally biting retort. After a quick glance at Zoe and me, he seemed to reconsider, and stayed silent. Michaelson, however, couldn't help himself from muttering, "Protect us all." He made the sign against evil.**

"What's the sign against evil?" Jill asked.

"When we make the sign against evil, we make a cross around our shoulder. If you see an Alchemist do that they're extremely uncomfortable."

"Simply put, the Alchemists do it when they're around us."

"Yeah, something like that Jill."

I was hoping nobody had caught onto her saying _Alchemists _not _you_.

**Yet it wasn't Keith's name-calling that really set me off (though that did certainly send a chill through me). It was Stanton's earlier offhand comment. We know you requested Zoe.**

**Keith had requested Zoe for this assignment? My resolve to keep her out of it grew by leaps and bounds. The thought of her going off with him made me clench my fists. Everyone here might think Keith Darnell was some kind of poster child, but I knew better. No girl - let alone my sister - should be left alone with him.**

"Is he really that bad?" Sonya asked me.

"Yes," I replied, though I doubt she realized how bad.

**"Keith," said Stanton, a gentle warning in her voice. "I can respect your feelings, but you aren't in a position to make that call."**

**He flushed. "Palm Springs is my post! I have every right to dictate what goes on in my territory."**

"What does he mean by his territory?" Vasilisa asked me, interrupting Adrian who was about to go onto the next sentence.

"Some alchemists have specific posts where they stay permanently and survey the area." I'd have thought that the Moroi queen would at least know that.

**"I can understand why you'd feel that way," said my father.**

**Unbelievable. If Zoe or I had questioned authority like Keith had, our father wouldn't have hesitated to tell us our 'rights' - or rather, he'd tell us that we had none. **

"Now he's a dick and a sexist," Adrian commented.

**Keith had stayed with my family one summer - young Alchemists sometimes did that while training - and my father had grown to regard him like the son he'd never had. Even then, there'd been a double standard between Keith and us. Time and distance apparently hadn't diminished that.**

**"Palm Springs may be your post," said Stanton, "but this assignment is coming from places in the organization that are far above your reach. You're essential for coordination, yes, but you are by no means the ultimate authority here."**

**Unlike me, I suspected Stanton had smacked a few people in her day, and I think she wanted to do that to Keith now. It was funny that she would become my defender, since I'd been pretty sure she didn't buy my story about using Rose to advance my career. **

"I'm surprised anyone did," noted Adrian.

**Keith visibly calmed himself, wisely realizing a childish outburst wasn't going to get him anywhere. **

**"I understand. But I'm simply worried about the success of this mission. I know both of the Sage girls. Even before Sydney's 'incident,' I had serious concerns about her. I figured she'd grow out of them, though, so I didn't bother saying anything at the time. I see now I was wrong. Back then, I actually thought Zoe would have been a far better choice for the family position. No offense, Jared."**

"How can anybody determine how someone's going to turn out at the age of eleven, fourteen and nineteen?" Rose asked.

"Well I'm pretty sure our Kindergarten teacher knew about you," Vasilisa commented, and I made a mental note to ask Rose about that another time.

**He gave my father what was probably supposed to be a charming smile. Meanwhile, it was getting harder and harder to hide my incredulity.**

**"Zoe was eleven when you stayed with us," I said. "How in the world could you have drawn those conclusions?" I didn't buy for an instant that he'd had "concerns" about me back then. No - scratch that. He'd probably had concerns the last day he stayed with us, when I confronted him about a dirty secret he'd been hiding.**

"What was that again, Ms. Sage? I've forgotten," Abe said slyly. Like he didn't remember. He was probably going to blackmail me with it again someday.

Giving him a steely glare he kept that stupid grin on his face but didn't say anymore.

**That, I was almost certain, was what all of this was about. He wanted me silenced. My adventures with Rose were simply an excuse to get me out of the way.**

"You must have wound him up pretty tight for him to be acting this way," Rose said. "Didn't think you could manage that."

Taking it as a compliment, I replied, "I didn't do anything really. He should kept his hands to himself." Immediately after I'd said it I realized what I'd just given away. Luckily Rose didn't question further and Adrian continued reading before anyone else could make a comment.

**"Zoe was always advanced for her age," Keith said. "Sometimes you can just tell."**

**"Zoe's never seen a Strigoi, let alone a Moroi! She'd probably freeze up if she did. That's true of most Alchemists," I pointed out. "Whoever you send is going to have to be able to stand being around them, and no matter what you think of my reasons, I'm used to them. I don't like them, but I know how to tolerate them. Zoe hasn't had anything but the most basic of instruction - and that's all been in our home. Everyone keeps saying this is a serious assignment. Do you really want to risk its outcome because of inexperience and unsubstantiated fears?" I finished, proud of myself for staying calm and making such a reasoned argument.**

"I reckon you should join the debate team, Sydney," Jill said. Then it dawned on her that that probably wasn't the best idea. Between infiltrating the Alchemists, being a witch, taking care of her and keeping up with a normal workload when would I have the time. Not to mention sneaking out to see Adrian and dealing with my sister.

**Barnes shifted uneasily. "But if Keith had doubts years ago..."**

**"Zoe's training is still probably enough to get by," said my father.**

**Five minutes ago, my father had endorsed me going instead of her! Was anyone here even listening to me? It was like I was invisible now that Keith was here. Horowitz had been busily cleaning and putting away his tattooing tools but looked up to scoff at Barnes's remark.**

**"You said the magic words: 'years ago.' Keith couldn't have been much older than these girls are now." Horowitz shut his tool case and leaned casually against the wall, arms crossed. "I don't doubt you, Keith. Not exactly. But I'm not really sure you can base your opinion of her off memories from when you were all children."**

"I can't think of you as a child," Adrian commented between paragraphs.

"If you're referring to not having a childhood then sure, I can give you that," I said.

**By Horowitz's logic, he was saying I was still a child, but I didn't care. He'd delivered his comments in an effortless, easy way that nonetheless left Keith looking like an idiot. Keith knew it, too, and turned bright red.**

**"I concur," said Stanton, who was clearly getting impatient. "Sydney wants this badly, and few would, considering it means she'll actually have to live with a vampire."**

**Want it badly? Not exactly. But I did want to protect Zoe at all costs and restore my credibility. If it meant thwarting Keith Darnell along the way, then so much the - "Wait," I said, replaying Stanton's words. "Did you say live with a vampire?"**

"What did you think would happen?" Eddie asked.

"I was just taken aback," I answered.

**"Yes," said Stanton. "Even if she's in hiding, the Moroi girl still has to have some semblance of a normal life. We figured we'd kill two birds with one stone and enroll her in a private boarding school. Take care of her education and lodging. We would make arrangements for you to be her roommate."**

**"Wouldn't that mean... wouldn't that mean I'd have to go to school?" I asked, feeling a little puzzled now. "I already graduated."**

**High school, at least. I'd made it clear a number of times to my father that I'd love to go to college. He'd made it equally clear that he didn't feel there was a need.**

**"You see?" said Keith, jumping on the opportunity. "She's too old. Zoe's a better age match."**

"He really is eager for you not to go," Rose stated.

**"Sydney can pass for a senior. She's the right age." Stanton gave me a once-over. "Besides, you were homeschooled, right? This'll be a new experience for you. You can see what you were missing."**

"Yeah like when she had that boyfriend," Trey said, unknowing of the havoc he was about to unleash.

"You had a boyfriend!" Rose practically screamed at me. " Why didn't you tell me?"

"It just never came up," I replied my voice considerably quieter than Rose's.

"Tell me all about him," she demanded to which I told her.

"I'm sure we'll read about it later."

**"It would probably be easy for you," said my father grudgingly. "Your education was superior to anything they can offer."**

"Well that's a backhanded compliment if I'd ever heard one," Adrian said before he read the exact same thing.

**Nice backhanded compliment, Dad.**

**I was afraid to show how uneasy this deal was making me. My resolve to look out for Zoe and myself hadn't changed, but the complications just kept growing. Repeat high school. Live with a vampire. Keep her in witness protection. And even though I'd talked up how comfortable I was around vampires, the thought of sharing a room with one - even a seemingly benign one like Jill - was unnerving. Another woe occurred to me.**

**"Would you be an undercover student too?" I asked Keith. The idea of lending him class notes made me nauseous again.**

**"Of course not," he said, sounding insulted. "I'm too old. I'll be the Local Area Mission Liaison."**

"What's that mean?" Angeline asked clearly not understanding such words.

"It's not relevant," I answered, just wanting to get on with the story.

**I was willing to bet he'd just made that title up on the spot.**

**"My job is to help coordinate the assignment and report back to our superiors. And I'm not going to do it if she's the one there." He looked from face to face as he spoke that last line, but there was no question who she was. Me.**

"He's almost as stubborn as you, Roza," Dimitri said light heartedly.

**"Then don't," said Stanton bluntly. "Sydney is going. That's my decision, and I'll argue it to any higher authority you want to take it to. If you are so against her placement, Mr. Darnell, I will personally see that you are transferred out of Palm Springs and don't have to deal with her at all."**

**All eyes swiveled to Keith, and he hesitated. She'd caught him in a trap, I realized. I had to imagine that with its climate, Palm Springs didn't see a lot of vampire action. Keith's job there was probably pretty easy, whereas when I'd worked in St. Petersburg, I'd been constantly having to do damage control.**

"Sorry about that Sydney," Rose apologized.

"Don't worry about it," I said though she sure hadn't made my job easy. I can still remember what I had to go through to cover up that Strigoi she'd left in the park.

**That place was a vampire haven, as were some of the other places in Europe and Asia my father had taken me to visit. Don't even get me started about Prague. If Keith were transferred, he took the risk of not only getting a bigger workload but also of being in a much worse location. Because although Palm Springs wasn't desirable for vampires, it sounded kind of awesome for humans. Keith's face confirmed as much. He didn't want to leave Palm Springs.**

"Are all male Alchemist's jerks, Sage? Cause' it seems that way," Adrian commented before continuing to read.

**"What if she goes there, and I have reason to suspect her of treason again?"**

**"Then report her," said Horowitz, shifting restlessly. He obviously wasn't impressed with Keith. "The same as you would anyone."**

"He ended up doing a lot of that," Eddie said.

**"I can increase some of Zoe's training in the meantime," said my father, almost as an apology to Keith. It was clear whose side my father was on. It wasn't mine. It wasn't even Zoe's, really. "Then, if you find fault with Sydney, we can replace her."**

**I bristled at the thought of Keith being the one to decide if I had faults, but that didn't bother me nearly as much as the thought of Zoe still being tied to this. If my father was keeping her on standby, then she wasn't out of danger yet. The Alchemists could still have their hooks in her - as could Keith. I vowed then that no matter what it took, even if I had to handfeed him grapes, I would make sure Keith had no reason to doubt my loyalties.**

"You tried, but it didn't work very well," Adrian said.

**"Fine," he said, the word seeming to cause him a lot of pain. "Sydney can go... for now. But I'll be watching you." He fixed his gaze on me. "And I'm not going to cover for you. You'll be responsible for keeping that vampire girl in line and getting her to her feedings."**

**"Feedings?" I asked blankly. Of course. Jill would need blood. For a moment, all my confidence wavered. It was easy to talk about hanging out with vampires when none were around. Easier still when you didn't think about what it was that made vampires who they were. Blood. That terrible, unnatural need that fueled their existence. An awful thought sprang into my mind, vanishing as quickly as it came. Am I supposed to give her my blood? No. That was ridiculous. That was a line the Alchemists would never cross. Swallowing, I tried to conceal my brief moment of panic. "How do you plan on feeding her?"**

"Did you seriously think it would be you, Sage?" Adrian joked before continuing on.

At my silence towards his question he realized that this might not be something I'd wanted out in the open and quickly continued reading.

**Stanton nodded to Keith. "Would you explain?" I think she was giving him a chance to feel important, as a way of making up for his earlier defeat. He ran with it.**

**"There's only one Moroi we know of living in Palm Springs," said Keith. As he spoke, I noticed that his tousled blond hair was practically coated in gel. It gave his hair a slimy shine that I didn't think was attractive in the least. Also, I didn't trust any guy who used more styling products than I did.**

"What about me?" Adrian asked, mocking sadness.

"You're different," I told him, just wanting him to continue reading.

**"And if you ask me, he's crazy. But he's harmless crazy - inasmuch as any of them are harmless. He's this old recluse who lives outside the city. He's got this hang-up about the Moroi government and doesn't associate with any of them, so he isn't going to tell anyone you guys are there. Most importantly, he's got a feeder he's willing to share." I frowned.**

**"Do we really want Jill hanging out with some anti-government Moroi? The whole purpose is to keep them stable. If we introduce her to some rebel, how do we know he won't try to use her?"**

"Ha. You showed him there Sydney!" Jill said. She hadn't said much for this chapter.

**"That's an excellent point," said Michaelson, seeming surprised to admit as much.**

**I hadn't meant to undermine Keith. My mind had just jumped ahead in this way it had, spotting a potential problem and pointing it out. From the look he gave me, though, it was like I was purposely trying to discredit his statement and make him look bad.**

"Your subconscious probably had you act that way," Rose said in a suprising bout of knowledge.

"Since when did you study phsycology?" I asked Rose.

"I did a lot of reading to help Lissa," she replied.

"I knew you were doing that," Vasilisa said. "You just wouldn't admit it."

**"We won't tell him who she is, obviously," he said, a glint of anger in his good eye. "That would be stupid. And he's not part of any faction. He's not part of anything. He's convinced the Moroi and their guardians let him down, so he wants nothing to do with any of them. I've passed a story to him about how Jill's family has the same antisocial feelings, so he's sympathetic."**

**"You're right to be wary, Sydney," said Stanton. There was a look of approval in her eyes, like she was pleased at having defended me. That approval meant a lot to me, considering how fierce she often seemed. "We can't assume anything about any of them. Although we also checked out this Moroi with Abe Mazur, who concurs he's harmless enough."**

"More like he was a pawn in a master plan," I commented to which everybody asked me what I meant.

"Oh, you'll find out," Abe answered them mysteriously.

**"Abe Mazur?" scoffed Michaelson. He scratched at his graying beard. "Yes. I'm sure he'd be an expert on who's harmless or not."**

**My heart lurched at the name, but I tried not to show it. Do not react, do not react, I ordered my face. After a deep breath, I asked very, very carefully, "Is Abe Mazur the Moroi who's going with Jill? I've met him before... but I thought you said it was an Ivashkov who was going." If Abe Mazur was in residence in Palm Springs, that would alter things significantly.**

"It's hurtful to know you didn't want me around," Abe said.

"Oh, I've seen enough of you for a lifetime."

**Michaelson scoffed. "No, we'd never send you off with Abe Mazur. He's simply been helping with the organization of this plan."**

**"What's so bad about Abe Mazur?" asked Keith. "I don't know who he is."**

"That'd be right," Rose said. "You like to keep to the shadows."

More like lurking in the piping being the serpent he is.

**I studied Keith very closely as he spoke, looking for some trace of deception. But, no. His face was all innocence, openly curious. His blue eyes - or eye, rather - held a rare look of confusion, contrasting with the usual know-it-all arrogance. Abe's name meant nothing to him. I exhaled a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.**

**"A scoundrel," said Stanton flatly. "He knows far too much about things he shouldn't. He's useful, but I don't trust him."**

**A scoundrel? That was an understatement. Abe Mazur was a Moroi whose nickname in Russia - zmey, the serpent - said it all. Abe had done a number of favors for me, ones I'd had to pay back at considerable risk to myself. Part of that payback had been helping Rose escape. Well, he'd called it payback; I called it blackmail. I had no desire to cross paths with him again, mostly because I was afraid of what he'd ask for next. The frustrating part was that there was no one I could go to for help. My superiors wouldn't react well to learning that, in addition to all my other solo activities with vampires, I was making side deals with them.**

"What a lovely insight into your thoughts on me," Abe said.

**"None of them are to be trusted," my father pointed out. He made the Alchemist sign against evil, drawing a cross on his left shoulder with his right hand.**

**"Yes, well, Mazur's worse than most," said Michaelson. He stifled a yawn, reminding all of us that it was the middle of the night. "Are we all set, then?"**

**There were murmurs of assent. Keith's stormy expression displayed how unhappy he was at not getting his way, but he made no more attempts to stop me from going. "I guess we can leave anytime now," he said.**

**It took me a second to realize that the "we" meant him and me. "Right now?" I asked in disbelief.**

"They didn't give you much notice before hand did they," Jill stated.

"No," I replied. "They never did."

**He shrugged. "The vampires are going to be on their way soon. We need to make sure everything's set up for them. If we switch off driving, we can be there by tomorrow afternoon."**

**"Great," I said stiffly. A road trip with Keith. Ugh. But what else could I say? I had no choice in this, and even if I did, I was in no position to turn down anything the Alchemists asked of me now. I'd played every card I had tonight, and I had to believe being with Keith was better than a re-education center.**

**Besides, I'd just fought a hard battle to prove myself and spare Zoe. I had to continue showing I was up for anything. My father sent me off to pack with the same briskness he'd ordered me to make myself presentable earlier. I left the others talking and scurried quietly up to my room, still conscious of my sleeping mother. I was an expert in packing quickly and efficiently, thanks to surprise trips my father had sprung on me throughout my childhood. In fact, I always had a bag of toiletries packed and ready to go. The problem wasn't so much in speed as it was in wondering how much to pack. The length of time for this assignment hadn't been specified, and I had the uneasy feeling that no one actually knew. Were we talking about a few weeks? An entire school year? I'd heard someone mention the Moroi wanting to repeal the law that endangered Jill, but that seemed like the kind of legal process that could take a while. To make things worse, I didn't even know what to wear to high school. The only thing I was certain of was that the weather would be hot. I ended up packing ten of my lightest outfits and hoped I'd be able to do laundry.**

**"Sydney?" I was putting my laptop in a messenger bag when Zoe appeared in my doorway. She'd redone her braids so that they were neater, and I wondered if it had been an attempt to impress our father.**

"Does it really make much of a difference?" Christian asked, though I doubted he needed an answer to that.

**"Hey," I said, smiling at her. She slipped into the room and shut the door behind her. I was glad she'd come to say goodbye. I would miss her and wanted her to know that - **

**"Why did you do that to me?" she demanded before I could get a word out. "Do you know how humiliated I am?"**

"Is that seriously how she reacted?" Eddie exclaimed.

"Yeah," I said as my mind drifted.

**I was taken aback, speechless for a few moments. "I... what are you talking about? I was trying to - "**

**"You made me sound incompetent!" she said. I was astonished to see the glint of tears in her eyes. "You went on and on about how I didn't have any experience and couldn't handle doing what you and Dad do! I looked like an idiot in front of all those Alchemists. And Keith."**

**"Keith Darnell is no one you need to worry about impressing," I said quickly, trying to control my temper. Seeing her stormy face, I sighed and replayed the conversation in the study. I hadn't been trying to make Zoe look bad so much as do whatever I could to make sure I was the one sent away. I'd had no clue she would take it like this. "Look, I wasn't trying to embarrass you. I was trying to protect you."**

"I'm guessing she wants to join the Alchemists," Christian observed. He seemed to be joining in on the conversation quite a bit now.

**She gave a harsh laugh, and the anger sounded weird coming from someone as gentle as Zoe. "Is that what you call it? You even said yourself that you were trying to get a promotion!"**

"She believed that?" Sonya asked, sadness in her voice.

**I grimaced. Yes, I had said that. But I could hardly tell her the truth. No human knew the truth about why I'd helped Rose. Lying to my own kind - especially my sister - pained me, but there was nothing I could do. As usual, I felt trapped in the middle. So, I dodged the comment.**

**"You were never intended to be an Alchemist," I said. "There are better things for you out there."**

**"Because I'm not as smart as you?" she asked. "Because I don't speak five languages?"**

"Don't you speak more like ten?" Jill asked, clearly trying to distract me from the sad memories clogging up my brain.

**"That has nothing to do with it," I snapped. "Zoe, you're wonderful, and you'd probably make a great Alchemist! But believe me, the Alchemist life... you don't want any part of it." I wanted to tell her that she'd hate it. I wanted to tell her that she'd never be responsible for her own future or get to make her own decisions again. But my sense of duty prevented me, and I stayed silent.**

**"I'd do it," she said. "I'd help protect us from vampires... if Dad wanted me to." Her voice wavered a little, and I suddenly wondered what was really fueling her desire to be an Alchemist.**

"You're dad had a really tight hold on her didn't he," Sonya said once again. She was being very observant of Zoe's and I's fight.

**"If you want to get close to Dad, find another way. The Alchemist cause might be a good one, but once you're in it, they own you." I wished I could explain to her how it felt. "You don't want this life."**

**"Because you want it all for yourself?" she demanded. She was a few inches shorter than me but filled with so much fury and fierceness right now that she seemed to take up the room.**

"I can't imagine her like that," Jill said thoughtfully.

**"No! I don't - you don't understand," I finally said. I wanted to throw my hands up in exasperation but held back, as always.**

**The look she gave me nearly turned me to ice. "Oh, I think I understand perfectly." She turned around abruptly and hurried out the door, still managing to move quietly. Her fear of our father overpowered her anger at me.**

**I stared at where she'd been standing and felt terrible. How could she have thought I was really trying to steal all the glory and make her look bad? Because that's exactly what you said, a voice inside me pointed out. I supposed it was true, but I'd never expected her to be offended. I'd never known she had any interest in being one of the Alchemists. Even now, I wondered if her desire was more about being a part of something and proving herself to our father than it was about really wishing she'd been chosen for this task.**

**Whatever her reasons, there was nothing to be done for it now. I might not like the heavy-handed way the Alchemists had dealt with me, but I still fiercely believed in what they were doing to protect humans from vampires. And I definitely believed in keeping Jill safe from her own people if it meant avoiding a massive civil war. I could do this job and do it well. And Zoe - she would be free to pursue whatever she wanted in life.**

"You're a good sister," Vasilisa said, my respect growing for her.

**"What took you so long?" my father asked when I returned to the study. My conversation with Zoe had delayed me a couple minutes, which was two minutes too long for him. I didn't attempt to answer.**

**"I'm ready to go whenever you are," Keith told me. His mood had shifted while I was upstairs. Friendliness oozed from him now, so strongly that it was a wonder everyone didn't recognize it as fake. He'd apparently decided to try a more pleasant attitude around me, either in the hopes of impressing the others or sucking up to me so that I wouldn't reveal what I knew about him. Yet even as he wore that plastic smile, there was a stiffness in his posture and the way he crossed his arms that told me - if no else - that he was no happier about being thrown together than I was. "I can even do most of the driving."**

**"I don't mind doing my share," I said, trying to avoid glancing at his glass eye. I also wasn't comfortable being driven by someone with faulty depth perception.**

"I wouldn't be either," Rose joked with a hint of seriousness.

**"I'd like to speak to Sydney in private before she goes, if that's all right," my father said.**

**No one had a problem with that, and he led me into the kitchen, shutting the door behind us. We stood quietly for a few moments, simply facing each other with arms crossed. I suddenly dared to hope that maybe he'd come to tell me he was sorry for how things had been between us this last month, that he forgave me and loved me. Honestly, I would've been happy if he'd simply wanted a private, fatherly goodbye.**

**He peered down at me intently, his brown eyes so identical to mine. I hoped mine never had such a cold look in them. "I don't have to tell you how important this is for you, for all of us."**

"That sounds like something my dad would say," Trey said.

"And my mom," Rose added.

**So much for fatherly affection.**

**"No, sir," I said. "You don't."**

**"I don't know if you can undo the disgrace you brought down on us by running off with them, but this is a step in the right direction. Do not mess this up. You're being tested. Follow your orders. Keep the Moroi girl out of trouble." He sighed and ran a hand through his dark blond hair, which I'd also inherited.**

**Strange, I thought, that we had so many things in common... yet were so completely different. "Thank God Keith is with you. Follow his lead. He knows what he's doing."**

**I stiffened. There was that note of pride in his voice again, like Keith was the greatest thing walking the earth. My father had seen to it that my training was thorough, but when Keith had stayed with us, my father had taken him on trips and lessons I'd never been part of. My sisters and I had been furious.**

"Sexist much," Adrian said. He really liked to insult my father.

**We'd always suspected that our father regretted having only daughters, and that had been proof. But it wasn't jealousy that made my blood boil and teeth clench now.**

**For a moment, I thought, What if I tell him what I know? What will he think of his golden boy then? But staring into my father's hard eyes, I answered my own question: No one would believe me. That was immediately followed by the memory of another voice and a girl's frightened, pleading face staring at me with big brown eyes. Don't tell, Sydney. Whatever you do, don't tell what Keith did. Don't tell anyone. I couldn't betray her like that.**

"What do you know?" Sonya asked.

"You'll find out sooner or later."

**My father was still waiting for an answer. I swallowed and nodded. "Yes, sir."**

**He raised his eyebrows, clearly pleased, and gave me a rough pat on the shoulder. It was the closest he'd come to real affection in a while. I flinched, both from surprise and because of how rigid I was with frustration. "Good." He moved toward the kitchen door and then paused to glance back at me. **

**"Maybe there's hope for you yet."**

"That's the end of the chapter," Adrian declared. "Did you want to read again Sage?"

"No someone else can," I said.

"I'll read next," Eddie said, and Adrian passed him the book.

**A/U~**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. They're will be Sydrian soon, I promise.**

**Sweet Rambling xoxo**


	4. Chapter Three

**Enjoy the first chapter in a long time.**

**Chapter Three~**

"Off you go Eddie," I told him, wanting to get this chapter over and done with.

**The drive to Palm Springs was agony.**

"Of course it was," Adrian said light tone. "Any trip without me is."

I rolled my eyes.

**I was exhausted from being dragged out of bed, and even when Keith took over the wheel, I couldn't fall asleep. I had too much on my mind: Zoe, my reputation, the mission at hand... My thoughts spun in circles. I just wanted to fix all the problems in my life. Keith's driving did nothing to make me less anxious.**

"Bet you wanted to get behind the wheel. You drove me everywhere in Russia," Rose said.

**I was also upset because my father hadn't let me say goodbye to my mom. He'd gone on and on about how we should just let her sleep, but I knew the truth. He was afraid that if she knew I was leaving, she'd try to stop us. **

"Why would she want to stop you?" asked Dimitri. "Its an honor to protect the princess."

"Alchemist business is less than honorable," I told him. "And plus, I don't think Jill needs that much protecting. Her punches are getting pretty good." I smiled in her direction.

**She'd been furious after my last mission: I'd gone halfway around the world alone, only to be returned with no clue as to what my future held. My mom had thought the Alchemists had used me badly and had told my dad it was just as well they seemed to be done with me. I don't know if she really could've stood in the way of tonight's plans, but I didn't want to take my chances in case Zoe got sent instead of me. I certainly hadn't expected a warm and fuzzy farewell from him, but it felt strange leaving on such unsettled terms with my sister and mother.**

**When dawn came, briefly turning the desert landscape of Nevada into a blazing sea of red and copper, I gave up on sleep altogether and decided to just power through. I bought a twenty-four-ounce cup of coffee from a gas station and assured Keith I could drive us the rest of the way.**

"Did anyone else predict that?" Eddie joked at my very usual behavior, receiving many agreeing nods from people around the space.

**He gladly gave up the wheel, but rather than sleep, he bought coffee as well and chatted me up for the remaining hours. He was still going strong with his new we're-friends attitude, almost making me wish for his earlier animosity. I was determined not to give him any cause to doubt me, so I worked hard to smile and nod appropriately. It was kind of hard to do while constantly gritting my teeth.**

"That would have been God awful," Christian commented, having picked up on my feelings towards Keith.

"You bet," I said.

**Some of the conversation wasn't so bad. I could handle business talk, and we had plenty of details to still work out. He told me all he knew about the school, and I ate up his description of my future home. Amberwood Preparatory School was apparently a prestigious place, and I idly wondered if maybe I could treat it as pretend college. **

"Who would want to go to college? Lissa dragged me to hers and it was God awful," said Rose.

"Well some people actually enjoy learning," I retorted back with a playful smile.

**By Alchemist standards, I knew all I needed for my job, but something in me always burned for more and more knowledge. I'd had to learn to content myself with my own reading and research, but still, college - or even just being around those who knew more and had something to teach me - had long been a fantasy of mine.**

"Again, what is your fascination with learning?" asked Rose, but I just rolled my eyes and beckoned for Eddie to keep reading.

**As a "senior," I would have off-campus privileges, and one of our first orders of business - after securing fake IDs - was to get me a car. Knowing I wouldn't be trapped at a boarding school made things a bit more bearable, even though it was obvious that half of Keith's enthusiasm for getting me my own transportation was to make sure I could shoulder any work that came along with the job.**

"Slacker," commented Adrian, obviously forgetting he couldn't even land himself a job at a bar.

**Keith also enlightened me about something I hadn't realized - but probably should have. "You and that Jill girl are being enrolled as sisters," he said.**

**"What?" It was a measure of my self-control that my hold on the car never wavered. Living with a vampire was one thing - but being related to one?**

"I hope your opinion has changed," said Jill, even though she already knew the answer.

"Of course," I said. "I only said that so he wouldn't call me a vamp lover again."

"Why do you have something against vampires, Sage?" Adrian teased.

"Okay why is everybody ganging up on me now?"

No answer.

"Just keep on reading, Eddie."

**"Why?" I demanded.**

**I saw him shrug in my periphery. "Why not? It explains why you'll be around her so much - and is a good excuse for you to be roommates. Normally, the school doesn't pair students who are different ages, but... well... your 'parents' promised a hefty donation that made them change their normal policy."**

"So the Alchemists can pay for you and Jill to have a room together but can't pay for an extra apartment?" Adrian complained.

"Exactly," I replied.

**I was so stunned that I didn't even have my normal gut reaction to slap him when he concluded with his self-satisfied chuckle. I'd known we'd be living together... but sisters? It was... weird. No, not just that. Outlandish.**

**"That's crazy," I said at last, still too shocked to come up with a more eloquent response.**

**"It's just on paper," he said.**

**True. But something about being cast as a vampire relative threw my whole order off. I prided myself on the way I'd learned to behave around vampires, but part of that came from the strict belief that I was an outsider, a business associate distinct and removed. Playacting as Jill's sister destroyed those lines. It brought about a familiarity that I wasn't sure I was ready for.**

"You had to deal with a lot of things you weren't ready for," said Eddie.

"For example?" I prompted.

"I'd tell you, but I'm pretty sure we will read about it later."

**"Living with one of them shouldn't be so bad for you," Keith commented, drumming his fingers against the window in a way that put my nerves on edge. Something about the too-casual way he spoke made me think he was leading me into a trap. "You're used to it."**

**"Hardly," I said, choosing my words carefully. "I was with them for a week at most. And actually, most of my time was spent with Dhampirs."**

"Guilty as charged," said Rose jokingly.

**"Same difference," he replied dismissively. "If anything, the Dhampirs are worse. They're abominations. Not human, but not full vampires. Products of unnatural unions."**

"Is that really what the Alchemists think of Dhampirs?" asked Lissa.

"They've been called much worse," I answered truthfully.

**I didn't respond right away and instead pretended to be deeply interested in the road ahead. What he said was true, by Alchemist teaching. I'd been raised believing that both races of vampires, Moroi and Strigoi, were dark and wrong. They needed blood to survive. What kind of person drank from another? It was disgusting, and just thinking about how I'd soon be ferrying Moroi to their feedings made me ill.**

"I'd like to think you feel differently now," said Adrian.

"If I didn't, would I be sitting here now?"

"Good point," he answered.

**But the Dhampirs... that was a trickier matter. Or at least, it was for me now. The Dhampirs were half human and half vampire, created at a time when the two races had mingled freely. Over the centuries, vampires had pulled away from humans, and both of our races now agreed that those kinds of unions were taboo. The dhampir race had persisted against all odds, however, in spite of the fact that Dhampirs couldn't reproduce with each other. They could with Moroi or humans, and plenty of Moroi were up to the task.**

**"Right?" asked Keith. I realized he was staring at me, waiting for me to agree with him about Dhampirs being abominations - or maybe he was hoping I would disagree. Regardless, I'd been quiet for too long.**

**"Right," I said. I mustered the standard Alchemist rhetoric. "In some ways, they're worse than the Moroi. Their race was never meant to exist."**

**"You scared me there for a second," Keith said. I was watching the road but had a sneaking suspicion he'd just winked at me. "I thought you were going to defend them. I should've known better than to believe the stories about you. I can totally get why you'd want to gamble at the glory - but man, that had to have been harsh, trying to work with one of them."**

"I'm not that hard to handle. Am I?" Rose commented.

I think the silence that followed answered her question.

**I couldn't explain how once you'd spent a little time with Rose Hathaway, it was easy to forget she was a dhampir. Even physically, Dhampirs and humans were virtually indistinguishable. Rose was so full of life and passion that sometimes she seemed more human than I was. Rose certainly wouldn't have meekly accepted this job with a simpering, "Yes, sir." Not like me.**

"That's right! Nobody pushed Rose Hathaway around!"

**Rose hadn't even accepted being locked in jail, with the weight of the Moroi government against her. Abe Mazur's blackmail had been a catalyst that spurred me to help her, but I'd also never believed that Rose had committed the murder they'd accused her of. That certainty, along with our fragile friendship, had driven me to break Alchemist rules to help Rose and her dhampir boyfriend, the formidable Dimitri Belikov, elude the authorities.**

**Throughout it all, I'd watched Rose with a kind of wonder as she battled the world. I couldn't envy someone who wasn't human, but I could certainly envy her strength - and refusal to back down, no matter what.**

"Why thank you."

**But again, I could hardly tell Keith any of that. And I still didn't believe for an instant, despite his sunny act, that he was suddenly okay with me coming along.**

**I gave a small shrug. "I thought it was worth the risk."**

**"Well," he said, seeing I wasn't going to offer anything more. "The next time you decide to go rogue with vampires and Dhampirs, get a little backup so you don't get in as much trouble."**

**I scoffed. "I have no intention of going rogue again." That, at least, was the truth.**

"Oh, how wrong you were," Adrian slipped out.

"Wait, what?" Rose exclaimed. "Adrian! You just ruined it."

"Not really," he said. "You don't know exactly what's going to happen. Its not like I told you –."

"I think that's enough," I cut in. "Why not instead of talking about it, we read about? Go on Eddie".

**We reached Palm Springs late in the afternoon and got to work immediately with our tasks. I was dying for sleep by that point, and even Keith - despite his talkativeness - looked a little worn around the edges. But we'd gotten the word that Jill and her entourage were arriving tomorrow, leaving very little time to put the remaining details in place.**

**A visit to Amberwood Prep revealed that my "family" was expanding. Apparently, the dhampir coming with Jill was enrolling as well and would be playing our brother. Keith was also going to be our brother. When I questioned that, he explained that we needed someone local to act as our legal guardian should Jill or any of us need to be pulled from school or granted some privilege. Since our fictitious parents lived out of state, getting results from him would be faster. I couldn't fault the logic, even though I found being related to him more repulsive than having Dhampirs or vampires in the family. And that was saying a lot.**

"Where all going to take that as a compliment," Eddie said.

"But for all of you who have met Keith, you know its not a very big one," Adrian couldn't resist adding.

**Later on, a driver's license from a reputable fake ID maker declared that I was now Sydney Katherine Melrose, from South Dakota. We chose South Dakota because we figured the locals didn't see too many licenses from that state and wouldn't be able to spot any flaws in it. Not that I expected there to be. The Alchemists didn't associate with people who did second-rate work. I also liked the picture of Mount Rushmore on the license. It was one of the few places in the United States that I'd never been.**

"Oh my God, Sydney Sage hasn't been somewhere?" Rose joked.

**The day wrapped up with what I had most been looking forward to: a trip to a car dealer. Keith and I did almost as much haggling with each other as we did with the salesman. I'd been raised to be practical and keep my emotions in check, but I loved cars. That was one of the few legacies I'd picked up from my mom. She was a mechanic, and some of my best childhood memories were of working in the garage with her.**

"So that's why you love cars so much. Everything just became a lot clearer."

**I especially had a weakness for sports cars and vintage cars, the kinds with big engines that I knew were bad for the environment - but that I guiltily loved anyway. Those were out of the question for this job, though. Keith argued that I needed something that could hold everyone, as well as any cargo - and that wouldn't attract a lot of attention. Once more, I conceded to his reasoning like a good little Alchemist.**

**"But I don't see why it has to be a station wagon," I told him. Our shopping had led us down to a new Subaru Outback that met most of his requirements. My car instincts told me the Subaru would do what I needed. It would handle well and had a decent engine, for what it was. And yet... "I feel like a soccer mom," I said. "I'm too young for that."**

"And h -," Adrian started, before cutting himself off.

**"Soccer moms drive vans," Keith told me. "And there's nothing wrong with soccer."**

**I scowled. "Does it have to be brown, though?"**

**It did, unless we wanted a used one. As much as I would've liked something in blue or red, the newness took precedence. My fastidious nature didn't like the idea of driving "someone else's" car. I wanted it to be mine - shiny, new, and clean. So, we made the deal, and I, Sydney Melrose, became the proud owner of a brown station wagon. I named it Latte, hoping my love of coffee would soon transfer to the car.**

"It definitely did," commented Jill. "I swear it smells like a coffee shop in there."

**Once our errands were done, Keith left me for his apartment in downtown Palm Springs. He offered to let me stay there as well, but I'd politely refused and gotten a hotel room, grateful for the Alchemists' deep pockets. Honestly, I would've paid with my own money to save me from sleeping under the same roof as Keith Darnell.**

"Anybody would," said Adrian in all seriousness.

**I ordered a light dinner up to my room, relishing the alone time after all those hours in the car with Keith. Then I changed into pajamas and decided to call my mom. Even though I was glad to be free of my dad's disapproval for a while, I would miss having her around.**

**"Those are good cars," she told me after I began the call by explaining my trip to the dealership. My mother had always been a free spirit, which was an unlikely match for someone like my dad. While he'd been teaching me chemical equations, she'd showed me how to change my own oil. Alchemists didn't have to marry other Alchemists, but I was baffled by whatever forces had drawn my parents together. Maybe my father had been less uptight when he was younger.**

"If he is anything like the average Alchemist, I doubt it."

"Have you ever considered that people need not here your commentary, Ivashkov?" Dimitri questioned, answered by a shrug.

"No, not really."

**"I guess," I said, knowing I sounded sullen. My mother was one of the few people I could be anything less than perfect or content around. She was a big advocate of letting your feelings out. "I think I'm just annoyed that I didn't have much say in it."**

**"Annoyed? I'm furious that he didn't even talk to me about it," she huffed. "I can't believe he just smuggled you out like that! You're my daughter, not some commodity that he can just move around." For a moment, my mother reminded me weirdly of Rose - both possessed that unflinching tendency to say what was on their minds. That ability seemed strange and exotic to me, but sometimes - when I thought about my own carefully controlled and reserved nature - I wondered if maybe I was the weird one.**

"Its weird to think that the same thoughts that go through our heads, go through yours as well," stated Rose.

**"He didn't know all the details," I said, automatically defending him. With my father's temper, if my parents were mad at each other, then life at home would be unpleasant for Zoe - not to mention my mom. Better to ensure peace. "They hadn't told him everything."**

**"I hate them sometimes." There was a growl in my mom's voice. "Sometimes I hate him too."**

**I wasn't sure what to say to that. I resented my father, sure, but he was still my father. A lot of the hard choices he made were because of the Alchemists, and I knew that no matter how stifled I felt sometimes, the Alchemists' job was important. Humans had to be protected from the existence of vampires. Knowing vampires existed would create a panic. Worse, it could drive some weak-willed humans into becoming slaves to the Strigoi in exchange for immortality and the eventual corruption of their souls. It happened more often than we liked to admit.**

"I've met those kind of people," Dimitri said, "and honestly I don't know what they think they're getting themselves into."

**"It's fine, Mom," I said soothingly. "I'm fine. I'm not in trouble anymore, and I'm in the U.S. even." Actually, I wasn't sure if the "trouble" part was really true, but I thought the latter would soothe her. Stanton had told me to keep our location in Palm Springs secret, but giving up that we were domestic wouldn't hurt too much and might make my mom think I had an easier job ahead of me than I likely did. She and I talked a little bit more before hanging up, and she told me she'd heard from my sister Carly. All was well with her at college, which I was relieved to hear. I wanted desperately to find out about Zoe as well but resisted asking to talk to her. I was afraid that if she got on the phone, I'd find out she was still mad at me. Or, worse, that she wouldn't speak to me at all.**

"No wonder you never brought up your sisters."

**I went to bed feeling melancholy, wishing I could have poured out all my fears and insecurities to my mom. Wasn't that what normal mothers and daughters did? I knew she would've welcomed it. I was the one who had trouble letting myself go, too wrapped up in Alchemist secrets to be a normal teenager.**

**After a long sleep, and with the morning sunlight streaming through my window, I felt a little better. I had a job to do, and having purpose shifted me out of feeling sorry for myself. I remembered that I was doing this for Zoe, for Moroi and humans alike. **

"You know you forgot one," mentioned Christian.

"Oh, shut up," I said before I realized I was speaking to a Moroi Prince and the Queens boyfriend. "I am so sorry," I instantly apologized, but Christian just waved me off.

"Don't worry about it," he assured me. "People have said much worse."

**It allowed me to center myself and push my insecurities aside - at least, for now.**

**I picked up Keith around noon and drove us outside of the city to meet Jill and the recluse Moroi who'd be helping us. Keith had a lot to say about the guy, whose name was Clarence Donahue. Clarence had lived in Palm Springs for three years, ever since the death of his niece in Los Angeles, which had apparently had quite a traumatic effect on the man. Keith had met him a couple of times on past jobs and kept making jokes about Clarence's tenuous grip on sanity.**

"Something Keith didn't exactly help with," Eddie said with a hint of annoyance.

"Shh, don't give everything away," I warned him.

**"He's a few pints short of a blood bank, you know?" Keith said, chuckling to himself. I bet he'd been waiting days to use that line.**

**The jokes were in poor taste - and stupid to boot - but as we got closer and closer to Clarence's home, Keith eventually became very quiet and nervous. Something occurred to me.**

**"How many Moroi have you met?" I asked as we pulled off the main road and turned into a long and winding driveway. The house was straight out of a Gothic movie, boxy and made of gray bricks that were completely at odds with most of the Palm Springs architecture we'd scene. The only reminder that we were in southern California was the ubiquitous palm trees surrounding the house. It was a weird juxtaposition.**

**"Enough," said Keith evasively. "I can handle being around them."**

"Yeah right," I scoffed.

**The confidence in his tone sounded forced. I realized that despite his brashness about this job, his comments on the Moroi and dhampir races, and his judgment of my actions, Keith was actually very, very uncomfortable with the idea of being around non-humans. It was understandable. Most Alchemists were. A large part of our job didn't even involve interacting with the vampiric world - it was the human world that needed tending. Records had to be covered up, witnesses bribed. The majority of Alchemists had very little contact with our subjects, meaning most Alchemists' knowledge came from the stories and teachings passed down through the families. Keith had said he'd met Clarence but made no mention of spending time with other Moroi or Dhampirs - certainly not a group, like we were about to face.**

**I was no more excited to hang around vampires than he was, but I realized it didn't scare me nearly as much as it once would have. Rose and her companions had given me a tough skin.**

"Glad to hear I made an impact."

**I'd even been to the Moroi Royal Court, a place few Alchemists had ever visited. If I'd walked away from the heart of their civilization intact, I was certain I could handle whatever was inside this house. Admittedly, it would've been a little easier if Clarence's house didn't look so much like a creepy haunted manor from a horror movie.**

"It was pretty creepy," agreed Jill.

**We walked up to the door, presenting a united front in our stylish, formal Alchemist attire. Whatever his faults, Keith cleaned up well. He wore khaki pants with a white button-up shirt and navy silk tie. The shirt had short sleeves, though I doubted that was helping much in the heat. It was early September, and the temperature had been pushing ninety when I left my hotel. I was equally hot in a brown skirt, tights, and a cap-sleeved blouse scattered with tan flowers.**

**Belatedly, I realized we kind of matched.**

"I feel so sorry for you."

**Keith lifted his hand to knock at the door, but it opened before he could do anything. I flinched, a bit unnerved despite the assurances I'd just given myself.**

**The guy who opened the door looked just as surprised to see us. He held a cigarette pack in one hand and appeared as though he'd been heading outside to smoke. He paused and gave us a once-over.**

"And I enter this story," Adrian announced. "Its about time too. I reckon we all need to be entertained by my past witty commentary.

**"So. Are you guys here to convert me or sell me siding?"**

"Very witty, Adrian," Christian joked.

"Much wittier than anything you've come up with, Sparky," Adrian joked back.

**The disarming comment was enough to help me shake off my anxiety. The speaker was a Moroi guy, a little older than me, with dark brown hair that had undoubtedly been painstakingly styled to look messy. Unlike Keith's ridiculously over-gelled attempts, this guy had actually done it in a way that looked good. Like all Moroi, he was pale and had a tall, lean build. Emerald green eyes studied us from a face that could have been sculpted by one of the classical artists I so admired. Shocked, I dismissed the comparison as soon as it popped into my head. This was a vampire, after all. It was ridiculous to admire him the way I would some hot human guy.**

"I am just so irresistible that even Alchemists check me out. And that's saying something."

"Come on Adrian," Rose complained. "We're going to have to hear enough of you as it is. Could you just keep your mouth shut."

**"Mr. Ivashkov," I said politely. "It's nice to see you again."**

**He frowned and studied me from his greater height. "I know you. How do I know you?"**

**"We - " I started to say "met" but realized that wasn't quite right since we hadn't been formally introduced the last time I had seen him. He'd simply been present when Stanton and I had been hauled to the Moroi Court for questioning. "We ran into each other last month. At your Court."**

**Recognition lit his eyes. "Right. The Alchemist." He thought for a moment and then surprised me when he pulled up my name. With everything else that had been going on when I was at the Moroi Court, I hadn't expected to make an impression. "Sydney Sage."**

**I nodded, trying not to look flustered at the recognition. Then I realized Keith had frozen up beside me. He'd claimed he could "handle" being around Moroi, but apparently, that meant staring gape-mouthed and not saying a word. Keeping a pleasant smile on, I said, "Keith, this is Adrian Ivashkov.**

"I'm sure you were delighted that I made him uncomfortable, Sage," Adrian commented on himself.

"I was more than delighted."

**Adrian, this is my colleague, Keith Darnell."**

**Adrian held out his hand, but Keith didn't shake it. Whether that was because Keith was still shell-shocked or because he simply didn't want to touch a vampire, I couldn't say. Adrian didn't seem to mind. He dropped his hand and took out a lighter, stepping past us as he did. He nodded toward the doorway.**

**"They're waiting for you. Go on in." Adrian leaned close to Keith's ear and spoke in an ominous voice. "If. You. Dare." He poked Keith's shoulder and gave a "Muhahaha" kind of monster laugh.**

**Keith nearly leapt ten feet in the air. Adrian chuckled and strolled off down a garden path, lighting his cigarette as he walked. I glared after him - though it had been kind of funny - and nudged Keith toward the door.**

"Glad to know you thought so, Sage."

**"Come on," I said. The coolness of air conditioning brushed against me.**

**If nothing else, Keith seemed to have come alive. "What was that about?" he demanded as we stepped into the house. "He nearly attacked me!"**

"Oh please, its not like I killed him," Adrian said. "The most damage I did was partially blind him with how white my teeth are."

**I shut the door. "It was about you looking like an idiot. And he didn't do a thing to you. Could you have acted any more terrified? They know we don't like them, and you looked like you were ready to bolt."**

**Admittedly, I kind of liked seeing Keith caught off guard, but human solidarity left no question about which side I was on.**

"Which side are you on now?" asked Dimitri.

"Seeing as I'm sitting here no complaint, I'd say yours," I replied.

**"I did not," argued Keith, though he was obviously embarrassed. We walked down a long hallway with dark wood floors and trim that seemed to absorb all light. "God, what is wrong with these people? Oh, I know. They aren't people."**

**"Hush," I said, a bit shocked at the vehemence in his voice. "They're right in there. Can't you hear them?"**

**Heavy French doors met us at the end of the hall. The glass was frosted and stained, obscuring what was inside, but a low murmur of voices could still be heard. I knocked on the door and waited until a voice called an entry. The anger on Keith's face vanished as the two of us exchanged brief, commiserating looks. This was it. The beginning.**

**We stepped through.**

**When I saw who was inside, I had to stop my jaw from dropping like Keith's had earlier.**

"I have that kind of effect on people."

**For a moment, I couldn't breathe. I'd mocked Keith for being afraid around vampires and Dhampirs, but now, face-to-face with a group of them, I suddenly felt trapped. The walls threatened to close in on me, and all I could think about were fangs and blood. My world reeled - and not just because of the group's size.**

**Abe Mazur was here.**

"You seemed so happy to see me," Abe commented.

**Breathe, Sydney. Breathe, I told myself. It wasn't easy, though. Abe represented a thousand fears for me, a thousand entanglements I'd gotten myself into.**

"Yes, you were definitely happy to see me," Abe said with a wink.

**Slowly, my surroundings crystallized, and I regained control. Abe wasn't the only one here, after all, and I made myself focus on the others and ignore him.**

**Three other people sat in the room with him, two of whom I recognized. The unknown, an elderly Moroi with thinning hair and a big white mustache, had to be our host, Clarence.**

**"Sydney!" That was Jill Mastrano, her eyes lighting up with delight. I liked Jill, but I hadn't thought I'd made enough of an impression on the girl to warrant such a welcome. Jill almost looked like she would run up and hug me, and I prayed that she wouldn't. I didn't need Keith to see that. More importantly, I didn't need Keith reporting about that.**

"You had such good opinions of all of us," Jill said, partially hurt. I could understand why.

**Beside Jill was a dhampir, one I knew in the same way I knew Adrian - that is, I'd seen him but had never been introduced. Eddie Castile had also been present when I was questioned at the Royal Court and, if memory served, had been in some trouble of his own. For all intents and purposes, he looked human, with an athletic body and face that had spent a lot of time in the sun. His hair was a sandy brown, and his hazel eyes regarded me and Keith in a friendly - but wary - way. That's how it was with guardians. They were always on alert, always watching for the next threat. In some ways, I found it reassuring. My survey of the room soon returned me to Abe, who had been watching and seemed amused by my obvious avoidance of him. A sly smile spread over his features.**

**"Why, Miss Sage," he said slowly. "Aren't you going to say hello to me?"**

"Chapters over," announced Eddie. "Now who's going to read next?"

"Before we decide that, I think we should agree on something else," I started. "Since I'm the narrator to this story, I can tell you now that there are going to be somethings that I never meant for others to hear. So I want us all to agree that we will look past the past and focus on the present and future."

"I think that's a good idea," Miss Terwilliger agreed.

"Me too," Sonya piped up.

"Okay, well I think that Jill should read next," I suggested.

"Yeah, I'm fine with that," Jill agreed. "Come on Eddie, pass it over so we can keep on reading."

**A/N ~**

**I honestly feel terrible that I haven't updated. I remembered promising that this would not be one of those stories and now I have broken that promise. I just hope you can continue reading this story.**

**On a good note, my school has unblocked the fanfiction website so I'll be able to upload before 5 at night on a weekday and reply to your reviews, follows and favorites.**

**Hope to post the new chapter by next weekend.**

**SweetRambling xoxo**


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